save lars

Project

Learn about the history of the Lars
Restoration Project on this page.

The timeline will help you understand the
trials and tribulations we encountered in turning this foolish,
idealistic crusade into a veritable tour the force of Star Wars
fandom. It was clear from the outset that fans love Star Wars in
general, but also the Lars Homestead in particular.

The Save the Lars Homestead got
recognition worldwide as a tremendous labour of love. After
all, who in their right mind would travel out into the
Tunisian desert to restore a plaster construction that was
featured in some sci-fi flick? Yep, that's us...

The Project

Mark Dermul, the Project Lead, had been
to Tunisia many times, guiding over 50 fans to the filming
locations of the desert planet Tatooine in the Star Wars
Saga.

During his latest trip, in 2010, the fans were flabbergasted
with the poor state one particular and very iconic location
was in. The Lars Homestead was almost destroyed by the
climate of the Tunisian desert.

Afterwards, while drinking a few Boga (Tunisian lemonade) in
a local Cantina, some of them started joking about one day
returning to restore the Lars Homestead to its full movie
look-alike glory.

What started as an off-the-cuff remark soon turned into a
solid idea. Some of the Pioneers - affectionate name Mark
came up with for his Tatooine travelers - mentioned the idea
on Facebook and were overwhelmed with the positive reactions
they received.

Soon, they turned to their faithful tour guide to see if
this folly of an idea could be turned into a reality. A
website was opened to explain the restoration project and
fans could donate as little as $2 and as much as they saw
fit. In less than 10 months (!) we raised the required $10,000.

Needless to say, we got very excited and worked out plans to
get this project off the ground.

Timeline

April 2001

Mark travels to Tunisia to scout for
the filming locations for the very first time. His online
report soon catapults him into an impromptu role of Tour
Guide. Plans to return - with fans this time - form in the
next months.

May 2003

The Trip to Tatooine is born. Mark
takes 12 fans from all over the world (Belgium, UK, Holland,
Ireland, Australia and USA) to Tunisia to tour the southern
part of the country to visit the filming sites.

May 2005

Mark, believing this to be his Final
Trip, returns to Tunisia with no less than 18 Pioneers (Belgium,
Holland, Germany, UK, Ireland and USA). It was a trip that
will be long remembered, since we left one week after the
worldwide premiere of Star Wars, Episode III: 'Revenge
of the Sith'.

July 2007

Mark publishes his first travel guide,
aptly titled Trip to Tatooine, providing all the
information future Pioneers will need to undertake their own
expedition to the Jundland Wastes.

May 2010

He should have known better than to
think 2005 would be the last time he would travel to Tunisia.
Five years after his misnomed Final Trip, Mark organises a
Tatooine Reunion. Again no less than 18 Pioneers visit
all the filming locations. The fans are astounded with the
poor state of the iconic movie location 'Lars Homestead
Exterior' in the Chott el Jerid, southwest of Nefta.

24 May 2010

After visiting the Lars Homestead on
this faithful day, the first idea to restore this iconic
movie location take shape.

July 2010

Mark puts to paper his adventures with
the latest group, including locations from Indiana Jones as
well, in his new travel guide Tatooine Reunion.

July 2010

The plan for the project is launched
on Facebook and gets an immediate and overwhelmingly positive
response.

July 2010

Steve Sansweet, then Head of Fan Relations
at Lucasfilm, gives us the thumbs up as well
as permission to use an image from the original Star Wars
movie on our promotional cards. Good news!

August 2010

With the help of the people at the
Tunisian Tourism Office in Tozeur, Mark starts the
negotiations with the governor to get permits to restore the
Lars Homestead. After all, the location is the property of
the Tunisian government.

August 2010

Donations are coming in, thanks to
word of mouth, interviews on several podcasts (including the
famous ForceCast), magazines (including Star Wars Insider)
and the social media.

December 2010

In Tunisia, the civil revolution
erupts. Our negotiations with the Tunisian government - to
obtain the authorization and required permits - grinds to an
immediate halt. We are, truth be told, pretty worried that
this may be a serious setback for the Project.

April 2011

We are contacted by Legendary Times, a
US-based company that has plans to produce the Tatooine
Timepieces, high quality watches containing actual sand from
the Tunisian filming locations. We happily agree and provide
them with the required sand from our 2010 Trip. The
commission we receive from Thomas, the owner, pays for the
plaque we want to erect at the site.

May 2011

In less than 10 months, thanks to your
generous donations, the project if fully funded. Over 425
donations were received. Amazing! We are in
full go-mode and start preparing the trip in earnest.

October 2011

On October 23rd, a new government is
elected in Tunisia. After months of holding our breath - and
of course mindful of the tribulations the Tunisian people
have been going through - we resume our negotiations for the
project.

December 2011

Auhorized! On December 5th, as if it
was an early Christmas present, we receive authorization
from the Tunisian government to proceed with our plans. We
still have a lot of planning to take care of, but the
biggest hurdle has now been taken.

January 2012

Legendary Times starts shipping the
highly anticipated Tatooine Timepieces and receives praise
on social media for a wonderful collectible. A special
edition is produced exclusively for the infamous 501st
Legion. Legendary Times donates a huge part of the proceeds,
boosting the budget up to $11,700.

March 2012

Travel arrangements are made: flights
are booked, the car is rented, hotel reservations are made.
We are getting very close to fulfilling our destiny to Save
the Lars Homestead.

May 2012

Mark Dermul, Mark Cox, Terry Cooper,
Robert Cunningham, Imanuel Dijk and Michel Verpoorten board
the plane and head out to Tunisia on the 26th of May 2012 to
Save the Lars Homestead. Read all about
their adventures in the diary
pages!

Crew & Saviours

Find out who who donated to make this
restoration possible and meet the crew who traveled out to
Tunisia to make it happen.